Mansion del Diablo
by so-close
Summary: They knew the case was going to be strange, but they didn't know how strange. And they don't know how weird things are going to get before it's over...if they live to see it.
1. First Sight

iDisclaimer: CSI and its respective characters still don't belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters other than those from CSI are my own creations. Any relation to any real person is unintentional. As far as I know, paranormalvisitors.org does not exist, but if it does, it is not mine. In other words, please don't sue me. I can't afford it.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first chapter fic, so please R&R. It's the only way I can keep myself motivated to finish the story. Constructive criticism is always welcome./i br ------------------------------------ br  
  
The Denali rolled to a slow stop at the end of the forbidding driveway. Eyes wide, Sara stepped onto the damp ground from the passenger side of the vehicle, only to be greeted by a deafening clash of thunder as lighting snaked its way through the sky behind the looming silhouette of a mansion. A barely audible "wow" escaped her lips as she carefully chose her steps over the damp ground to make her way around the front of the vehicle, kit in hand, to join Grissom who was now exiting from behind the wheel.  
  
"This looks nice," he commented blankly.  
  
"Yeah, for a horror movie," Sara replied with a sarcastic glance tossed briefly in Grissom's direction before stepping aside. "After you."  
  
An uncharacteristically cold wind blew through the night air, causing the two to shudder involuntarily as they walked down the gray stone path leading to the wrought-iron barred double doors.  
  
"They went all out on this place," Sara observed, eyeing the gnarled limbs of two bare trees on either side of the walk.  
  
Grissom simply nodded and ascended the steps onto the front porch that wrapped halfway around the building. Normally a place of welcome, the cracked concrete scattered with glass from the shattered windows had been transformed into a well-functioning warning.  
  
Inside the door, Brass met them with a flashlight. "What do you think?" he asked in response to strange looks adorning both their faces when he illuminated the pair with yellow light.  
  
Sara only met his question with a stare before taking out her own Mag- Lite to look around the room.  
  
"This place has been deserted for years, as it's no trouble to see," Brass said, moving aside to allow them farther into the room. "We got the call from two kids coming up here for a 'ghost hunt'."  
  
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "A ghost hunt?"  
  
Brass nodded. "Apparently, they run a site called paranormalvisitors.org. They provide various media related to spirits and hauntings. I don't think I need to explain why this place was appealing."  
  
"No," Sara affirmed, beginning to wander around the large entrance.  
  
Dust coated everything and floated thickly through the air, reflecting a large fraction of the small flashlight's beam back into her eyes and allowing only a faint view of the landings of each of the four floors. Tattered curtains fluttered at the broken windows, casting eerie shadows along the floor with what little moonlight filtered through the remaining panes. On the wooden desk next to the stairs, several sheets of paper turned brown with age were strewn beside an empty inkbottle. An old fashioned telephone resided in its corner, earpiece dislodged from the base, covered by the remaining web of some spider gone long ago.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
"Huh?" She turned from where she had been standing crouched over the piece of furniture to see Grissom standing beside Brass at the base of the stairs. "Oh, sorry."  
  
Sara joined the other two and began to ascend the stairs. On one side, an elaborate banister twisted up the slightly spiraling stairs opposite a once white wall covered in flaking yellowed paint and intermittent oil paintings whose eyes seemed to follow them all the way up.  
  
Suddenly, one of the stairs let out a particularly loud creak, causing all three to jump. Brass released a long breath and adjusted his footing. "Sorry."  
  
They reached the top, and as she looked out over the banister, Sara came eyelevel with an ornate but dirt-crusted chandelier hanging from the underside of the stairs that continued to the next floor. She gasped slightly when a draft stirred several of its glass pieces.  
  
"In here." Brass tilted his head toward the left. He led them down the narrow hall covered with red and blue patterned wallpaper whose better days had well passed and turned into the third doorway.  
  
Following Grissom into the dark room, Sara traced Brass's flashlight beam with her eyes to the spot he pointed out and felt her jaw drop. "Oh my God..." 


	2. Reactions

iDisclaimer: Same as before, they're not mine.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the great reviews, and I'm very sorry this update took so long. It's a bit brief, but I promise the next one won't take as long...I hope. /i br ------------------------------------ br  
  
The part of the room that Brass indicated extended as an irregular projection on the north side of the house. Its walls were glass, forming a grimy half-hexagon that, during the time the house was occupied, would have provided a breathtaking view of the gardens that sprawled beneath it, now filled with weeds and vines turned brown by what little winter weather Las Vegas encountered.  
  
Suspended by a metal chain from a beam placed between its walls, the barely recognizable remains of a human form was the only part of the view Sara noticed. The figure was beyond anything she'd ever seen. She felt her stomach churn and tasted the bitterness of bile rising into her throat while she struggled to take in the horrible picture.  
  
The male victim's skin had been torn away, exposing the red flesh and bone beneath. Bits of it still clung to the heavy chains surrounding its wrists and ankles. A long cut had been slashed into the stomach and the abdominal muscles ripped aside, exposing an empty cavity where the entrails should have been. Along with the skin, the eyelids had been removed, and the victim's eyes stared an eternal, disturbing stare that seemed to bore into Sara's own eyes.  
  
She gasped as she felt acid lurch farther into her esophagus and ran back into the hallway toward the stairs, but failed to make it before the sour vomit forced its way from her mouth. Gasping for air, she coughed and willed her digestive system to return to normal function. Wiping the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, Sara opened her eyes to inspect the damage she had done. Thankfully, she had opted not to eat anything before work that night.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
She turned to see Grissom standing in the hall behind her and winced. "I'm sorry. I don't know why that happened..." She shook her head, disgusted with not being able to control her reaction.  
  
"At least you made it out here where there's less chance of compromising the evidence."  
  
He handed her a tissue, then, satisfied that she was alright, returned to the room, knowing the embarrassment of an uncontrolled reaction was enough without having someone else looking over your shoulder.  
  
"Any ideas on who might have done this or why?" Grissom asked as he rejoined Brass.  
  
"None, so far."  
  
Grissom stepped closer to the body, careful to avoid the gelatinous mass in the center of the blood pool that he assumed to be the previous occupants of the abdominal cavity, and began his inspection. The chain that looped around its neck and over the beam was thicker than the ones binding the wrists and ankles, but their weight combined with the dead weight of the body had almost severed the neck, which now caused the head to hang back at an odd angle. Two puncture wounds were visible underneath the chin, corresponding with two more on the chest, the latter set spaced slightly farther apart and extending deeper into the flesh. The victim's back was covered with lacerations and puncture wounds much like those on the chest, but whether they were made by the same instrument would remain a mystery until tests were run at the lab.  
  
"Whoever did this wasn't worried about time." Grissom observed the man's fingers, most of which bent in several places where no joint should have been. "Torture like this would have taken hours at the least. Probably days."  
  
Sara returned to the room and had to still her stomach for a second time. The reaction wasn't as severe as the first, but she was aware of what awaited her this time. She pulled on a new pair of gloves and joined Grissom.  
  
"What happened here?" She shone her flashlight over the body, taking in her first up-close look at the body.  
  
br ---------------------------------------- br iWhat did you think? Should I continue? Any ideas you'd like me to consider?/i 


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